Dentist on Askew Road Censured by Regulator
The Dental Centre found deficient in patient safety and management
The Dental Centre, Askew Road. Picture: Google Streetview
February 2, 2021
A Shepherd’s Bush dental practice has been accused of failing to properly clean dental equipment by the national health regulator.
The Dental Centre at 67 Askew Road was found by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to have failed on points of patient safety and internal management.
This dentist is not connected with Askew Dental Care at 149 Askew Road.
Among the problems identified by CQC inspectors were that patients’ dental records were not maintained in an “accurate, complete and contemporaneous” way.
The watchdog also said dental instruments were not scrubbed thoroughly and “were not decontaminated and sterilised appropriately”.
“Staff were not scrubbing instruments unless visible debris was present and were using a metal burr brush. There was no separate receptacle set up to rinse the instruments,” the CQC said.
They added that the practice has since taken steps to “immediately rectify” the problem.
In their report, published on 26 January, inspectors also reported that, “The provider did not monitor or follow up on urgent and routine referrals to ensure patients were seen in a timely manner.”
Another issue discovered during their inspection in December was that “The practice did not have adequate systems for recognising, assessing and mitigating risks in areas such as the handling and disposal of hazardous substances, lone working, sharps or infection prevention and control.”
They continued: “Where risks had been highlighted and recommendations made in risk assessments, there were no systems in place to ensure the relevant audits, reviews and training had been carried out. This included, for example Legionella risk assessments.”
The company behind the practice, Dental Centre 100, includes a team of two dentists, two nurses and a receptionist.
Responding to the criticisms, a spokesperson said the practice’s head nurse had been away from work on the day of the inspection because they were shielding.
“We took a list of all the equipment and products that were missing at the time and put in use all our policies, risk assessments, fire safety tests and all the rest that were highlighted by CQC Inspectors have been reviewed and updated where necessary,” the spokesperson said.
“We are happy and more than ready to continue and provide service to the members of the public as before.”
The company also said it is making the following improvements:
- That it has “taken the time to go over our notes and have been more precise about taking notes of each patient”.
- That “new scrubbing tools and full training have been provided… including a whole new set up for the instrument sterilisation process”.
- With monitoring patient referrals, “we have set up a separate log, where we can track and follow up on our referrals”.
- And, that “folders have been updated and set up where needed for each one of the risk assessments mentioned above”.
The CQC was approached for further comment on when further inspections of the practice will take place, but they could not respond in time.
Owen Sheppard - Local Democracy Reporter